Mindfully Healing

Depressed people experienced feelings of unity, transcendence of space and time and a loss of boundaries. Psilocybin – the active part of magic mushrooms — can help reduce depression symptoms and reawaken the emotions, new research finds. The stronger the ‘mystical experience’, the more the hallucinogenic drug helped. People whose depression was most improved reported a more mystical experience, including feelings of unity and transcendence. Although antidepressants like Prozac can often help those who are depressed, they reduce both positive and negative emotions. Psilocybin therapy, though, may revive brain activity

It provides an extra layer of protection against dementias like Alzheimer’s disease. Being married or in a close relationship almost halves the risk of developing dementia, new research finds. It is likely because those in close relationships have an extra layer of protection against depression. Depression is a known risk factor for dementia. Professor Eef Hogervorst, who led the study, explained it could also be down to a healthier lifestyle: “It might be because other studies often found that married men on average have healthier lifestyles than single men –

Being a loner for the right reason can have surprising advantages. Spending time alone is linked to increased creativity among some people, research finds. Not all forms of social withdrawal are unhealthy, it seems. However, it depends on the reason for the withdrawal. Social withdrawal related to anxiety and fear is linked to negative outcomes, but social withdrawal without this feature is linked to creativity. Dr Julie Bowker, the study’s first author, said: “Motivation matters. We have to understand why someone is withdrawing to understand the associated risks and benefits.

Without stem cells, new brain cells cannot be produced. Alcohol kills stem cells in the brain, new research finds. Stem cells are responsible for making new cells — known as neurogenesis — and are key to maintaining normal cognitive function. Females are particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol, the study on mice found. Chronic alcohol abuse is known to cause severe brain damage and neurodegenration. It was thought for a long time that the body did not produce any new brain cells after early life, but relatively recently it

Missing out these simple parenting behaviours increases suicide risk in adolescents. Children who are not shown by their parents that they care are significantly more likely to contemplate suicide, research shows. The study’s authors identified three behaviours which, when lacking, were linked to suicidal thoughts in adolescence: Telling the child they are proud of them. Telling the child they have done a good job. Helping them with their homework. Adolescents who were rarely or never told by their parents they were proud of them were five times more likely to

Anxiety has an unexpected effect on memory. People with manageable levels of anxiety did better in a memory test, recalling more details, new research finds. Anxious people’s memories are particularly good when they are in a negative mindset, even if the things they are trying to remember are neutral. This is ironic since anxious people often feel their memory is worse than others and spend longer self-questioning. Anxiety also serves to taint memories, however, the researchers found. Events that might seem neutral to most people can seem negative to those

Study tests if antidepressants really help depressed people feel better in the long run. Over nine years, depressed people were better off if they had no treatment at all than if they took antidepressants, new research finds. In addition, depressed people that got adequate treatment without medication did better nine years later than those who got adequate treatment with medication. It may be that taking antidepressants causes more harm than no treatment whatsoever in the long run. These effects could be the result of many factors that others have suggested.

Study of over 1 million people diagnosed with dementia in France reveals biggest avoidable risk factor. Alcohol is the biggest avoidable risk factor for dementia, according to new research. The conclusions come from over 1 million people diagnosed with dementia in France. The damage done by alcohol was particularly striking for early-onset dementia: that which occurs before 65-years-old. Of the 57,000 cases of early-onset dementia in the sample, 57% were related to chronic heavy drinking. Heavy drinkers are defined as those consuming an average of 4-5 standard US drinks per